Here is the list of standings for the special event. You can easily see there are folks much more dedicated (fanatical) than I am. I still need KL7 (Alaska), South America, and Africa for a full sweep of continents, but I have all 10 call areas on 40 & 80 meters. Hawaii is the best “catch” for me with the state logged 80-15 meters, including WARC bands.

During the net this week we started discussing some of the less welcoming aspects of our hobby, the people who complain, tell new amateurs off, berate mistakes, etc. etc. This topic is large and we only scratched the surface of it.

During the week I wrote an article about it as a preparation for a future episode of "Foundations of Amateur Radio", inviting comment on reddit:

Onno Benschoponno@itmaze.com.au20181104-learningmorse3http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/vk6flab/71385135046148160222018-11-01T22:44:21.526Z2018-11-01T22:44:21.531Z2018-11-01T22:44:21.521Z20181102 - Where to start when you want to become licensed in Australia

An unlicensed amateur asked on reddit what the experience was of getting a Foundation License in Australia and how to go about learning and what the exam involved. Here's what Onno VK6FLAB wrote:

First of all, great, welcome, nice to have you here.

As for the test and preparing for it, anti-climactic is a good sentiment. It seems daunting, but in the end, for me, it was essentially a weekend of watching power-point slides, learning some stuff about the practical aspects, connectors, operating technique, etc. and a multiple choice test the following weekend. There is a practical exam as well, essentially show that you know how to operate a radio, plug in the bits into the right holes and know how to troubleshoot - all of it covered within about 20 minutes of instruction.

My experience aside, some training organisations knock the whole thing off in a day, others do it online, etc. If you're living remote, there is the opportunity to have remote examinations etc.

The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) is the authorised body that manages the process. Within that there are training providers and authorised examiners, the structure of that is too complex to get into here, but essentially, the WIA manages this on behalf of the regulator, the ACMA.

There are on line resources and apps, including video courses, trial exams, drills etc:

The Four States QRP Group has been issued a permanent DMR TalkGroup ID, 31654. A description is available at https://wiki.brandmeister.network/index.php/TalkGroup/31654 Our Four States DMR net occurs Thursday mornings at 0200 UTC, following the QRP CW nets at 0100 UTC on 7122 kHz and 0130 UTC on 3564 kHz. Though it’s unlikely we will hear Western Australia on 20 or 40 meters, you should be 59 on DMR.

Charles NK8O shares with us an adaptor that you can use to connect a BNC antenna to your handheld radio. It comes with a flange that provides stress relief.

Charles writes:

I purchased these adapters for my Chinese radios. The tighten down flush to the body of my Anytone DMR radio and my Wouxun HT, and make it a lot less likely that a bump or mishap will destroy the connector. Do NOT purchase the type that stands free from the body of the radio. They are a disaster waiting to happen. This of course requires purchase of a different antenna but definitely worth, and makes it easier to connect to another external antenna.

If you've been looking into doing some amateur satellite activities, here's a list of satellites to get you started thanks to Graeme VK6MIL.

#satellite #vk6mil

Onno Benschoponno@itmaze.com.au20180922-satellitedetails1http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/vk6flab/39747086614695636962018-09-22T00:39:46.147Z2018-09-22T00:55:52.571Z2018-09-22T00:55:50.007Z20180922 - MRO Open Day

The Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory is holding an open day in early October:

Glynn VK6PAW has been listening to aviation frequencies and asked where it's documented when to switch between Melbourne Centre, Perth Approach, Perth Tower and Perth Ground, as well as Perth Departures.

Rob VK6FDRM and Denis VK6AKR have been working satellites using a double-crossed dipole. Rob sends in a link to the design, made to receive NOAA satellite images, but easy to implement on any frequency:

WAARN Pesents NewsHound 101

I

Would you like to learn how to write a story? Would you like to learn how to record your story?

NewsHound 101 is WAARN’s successful training programme aimed at teaching people how to write up a story that’s easy to listen to, and how to make a successful recording, requiring no specialised equipment.

WHEN: Saturday 22nd September 2018

TIME: 0900 to 13:00

The Venue is the meeting road of the Bassendean Library, Old Perth Road, Bassendean.

This course is Free. BYO Lunch, laptop and Headset. To enrol, email secretary@vk6.net

Onno Benschoponno@itmaze.com.au20180901-newhfradiokit2http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/vk6flab/1560667453161852432018-09-01T00:44:00.830Z2018-09-01T00:44:00.834Z2018-09-01T00:44:00.825Z20180901 - Using Batteries as a power replacement

Charles PJ2/NK8O sends in this gadget that he uses to keep his batteries topped up with external power, solar, etc: